March retail sales trend upward

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $411.1 billion, an increase of 0.8% from the previous month.

Compared with the same month last year, sales were up 6.5%.

Total sales for the January through March 2012 period were up 6.4% from the same period a year ago.

Sales for the building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers, a group that includes home centers and hardware stores, were $27.758 billion in March on an adjusted basis, up 3.0% from February.

Non-store retailers were up 9.3% from last year, according to the report.